|
What's funny is that multi-generational households used to be the norm. My great-great grandfather lived in my grandmother's home when she was a young girl. Unsurprisingly this was before the New Deal.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2011 16:35
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 08:17 |
|
Shaman Ooglaboogla posted:http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/26/hurricane.coastal.building/index.html?hpt=hp_c1 There's rebuilding after bad things happen, and rebuilding in places where it doesn't make sense to rebuild. Towns and housing developments shouldn't be built in areas where there is a constant danger of natural disaster. I've just spent a month on flood duty near the Missouri river, and it boggles my mind that people rebuild on a flood plane. There are low lying areas near rivers that will be flooded out if there is too much rain in a year. This isn't in dispute. I've seen it happen 4 times in the past 20 years. I do not think it unreasonable or regressive to suggest that building on a piece of land that is underwater every 5 years isn't the best idea. If you are going to build in an area that is effected by natural disasters, then the building codes should be changed so that the buildings are capable of withstanding those disasters. We see this in hurricane prone areas, fire prone areas, and tornado prone areas. One or two houses that are specifically built to withstand the local disaster survive, while the rest of the cheaply constructed buildings are destroyed. I am all in favor of governmental disaster management, but using a little common sense and preparation to prevent or minimize the cost is better then just rebuilding the same susceptible designs every year.
|
|
|
#
¿
Aug 28, 2011 17:54
|
|
Bruce Leroy posted:But that's not what is being discussed in that editorial. What they are actually doing is presenting a strawman argument with a false choice. They are insinuating that their opponents just want to rebuild everything exactly as it was before the storm, but I'm fairly certain that any and all people in those areas would be eager for new technology and building codes (e.g. like those that prevented most casualties and severe damage after the earthquake is South America, compared to the devastation after the Haitian earthquake) that would prevent similar damage in the future. The authors are presenting the false choice that it's either (1) we do what they want and never rebuild in these areas and dismantle the government weather services or (2) maintain the status quo with absolutely no changes. The reality is that we can also rebuild in the same areas or nearby but change things for the better to prevent similar disasters in the future. We can rebuild better to prevent similar disasters, but that often doesn't happen. Look at the neighborhoods in southern California after the fires.
|
|
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2011 05:20
|
|
|
That's awesome. The guy who rails against homosexuals wants to start a right wing "300 Spartan Army."
|
|
|
#
¿
Oct 24, 2011 18:04
|
|
Zeroisanumber posted:Ford did the right thing by pardoning Nixon. It forced Nixon to admit his wrongdoing and allowed the country to move on from Watergate. Why did the country need to move on from Watergate before it went to trial?
|
|
|
#
¿
Oct 25, 2011 17:49
|
|
Zeroisanumber posted:Bullshit. Watergate poisoned the political discourse in the country, prevented any business from getting done in Washington, and a Nixon trial would've consumed Ford's presidency. What Ford needed was a way to end it while forcing Nixon to admit guilt for what he'd done. A pardon accomplished all of that, and utterly destroyed any chance that Jerry Ford would be reelected. Senator Edward Kennedy posted:
Watergate was a tragedy? That makes it sound like a natural disaster or a random event with a huge loss of life. It was a crime that should have been prosecuted.
|
|
|
#
¿
Oct 25, 2011 18:48
|
|
Helsing posted:Prizing violence as morally purifying and aesthetically pleasurable, portraying "the West" as a unique bastion of higher civilization in a world of barbarism, portraying anyone opposed to military solutions as effete, cowardly and corrupt, portraying a noble but doomed military expedition that has been "stabbed in the back" by traitors on the homefront, portraying the enemy as literally being subhuman monsters, using physical appearance as a crucial marker of moral character (ugly = evil, attractive = good), valorizing military sacrifice. Indulging in a homo-erotic celebration of the virile young male warrior. The list goes on and on. This would be pretty typical of a story told by the Romans, to be honest.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 13, 2011 23:41
|
|
Bel_Canto posted:That's not actually true at all. Roman poetry is rife with internal moral conflict about military endeavors and violence; I can't think of any poet who just straightforwardly goes for it. The fascists tried to paint Romans as all about the glory of the state and the cathartic power of conquest, but the sources are a whole lot more ambiguous. What about Caesar's letters from Gaul, or the propaganda about Mark Antony and Cleopatra?
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2011 05:52
|
|
|
Dawn of the Dead was pretty kick rear end.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2011 22:58
|
|
|
I wish that every time Zucotti is talked about they would show a picture of it. This is what comes to most people's minds when you say "park"  not this:  I mean, it's a paved in area with some trees. It's not like you could have a picnic there.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 20, 2011 17:16
|
|
|
The military is downsizing right now anyway and it's difficult to get in because so many people are enlisting due to the lovely economy. Also, becoming an officer requires a college education. Also, in the 1930's you could still take the train from almost any rural small town to just about any destination in the country, something that no longer exists.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2011 01:49
|
|
|
Not even. From Amtrak's website.  Almost all the US rail is for freight. Used to be you could get from Dows, Iowa to Chicago on the Rock Island Line. Not any more. Notice that in your map, the blank areas are either in the mountains, desert, or largely unpopulated areas out west.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2011 02:45
|
|
|
If you didn't own a car, which many people didn't during the Deprssion, two passenger trains a week is a lot better than none.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2011 02:51
|
|
|
Here's a rail map of Iowa from 1948. All these lines carried passengers. My grandmother grew up in Varina, IA and could take the train to Fonda, about 8 miles away. This line went to Ft. Dodge, then Dubuque, then Chicago. My other grandmother could take the train from Mapleton to Sioux City and then to Chicago. The most a person might have to walk is about 3 or 4 hours to get to the train, which isn't that much of a walk if you're used to it.  Rail access in the USA is nothing compared to what it was. True, you can take Greyhound now, forgot about that.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2011 03:17
|
|
|
Yep, you're right, trains didn't go to more destinations or cover more area in the 30's than they do now.
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2011 05:37
|
|
|
There were orgies? Why didn't anybody tell me?
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2011 01:19
|
|
Tatonka posted:Russ Kent is a copy editor and paginator for the Media Network of Central Ohio. He is more conservative than liberal. And he has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. You may not agree with his views. That's fine. He probably doesn't agree with you. But that's what this page is all about. Share your feelings by commenting on this column at MansfieldNewsJournal.com. Just respond with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taz1ANj6X7Y&feature=related Harry Truman posted:In the speech Senator Truman delivered on the floor of the Senate in December, 1937, he said in part:
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 13, 2011 05:33
|
|
Shalebridge Cradle posted:I know I'm getting to used to modern politics because its honestly shocking that a US President actually said those words. He was a Senator at the time.
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 14, 2011 19:42
|
|
Bruce Leroy posted:I know the withdrawal of most troops was part of the agreement previously made with the Iraqi government, but wasn't the US military going to leave far more troops stationed in Iraq before the Iraqi government refused to give all American soldiers blanket immunity for crimes committed in Iraq? While the Status of Force Agreements(SOFA) between the US and various countries like Germany, Japan, and Korea vary, I wouldn't put much faith in the Iraqi criminal justice system. It wasn't that great under Saddam, and I doubt it's gotten better after 8 years of war and occupation.
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2011 18:04
|
|
|
This guy seems to have a lot of inside knowledge on the gay subculture in Chicago. Just sayin.
|
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2012 14:05
|
|
|
Did Robert E. Lee do anything of real note prior to the Civil War? From my limited understanding, he married into a wealthy family from Virginia, was a very clever general during the war, and died within a couple of years of the surrender. What did he do that was the equivalent of Dr. King?
|
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2012 21:21
|
|
He must get paid by the word. Matthew posted:
|
|
|
#
¿
Feb 5, 2012 18:09
|
|
|
Send this back in reply: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334156/top-five-wealthiest-one-percent/?mobile=nc Also, considering the top 10% own 80% of the wealth, no it's not fair that they only pay 66% of the taxes.
|
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2012 20:17
|
|
|
There's a line in The Bridge to Terabithia where the boy is talking about one of his teachers, who had been a hippy in the 60's. He mentions that, and says "but since the war is over, it's okay to like peace now." It sums up the Conservative mindset nicely. Peace isn't an object good or bad, only when the "right kind" of people want peace is it okay.
|
|
|
#
¿
Feb 24, 2012 04:16
|
|
This was on my Facebook this morning.  
|
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 14:10
|
|
BioEnchanted posted:Wow, that's fairly nice in an incredibly evil way... How do you manage to pervert CHARITY of all things? "Don't you understand, charity just makes people lazy. If they aren't in danger of starving they won't want to work." -Actual argument.
|
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2012 16:20
|
|
|
The obvious solution is for the 3rd world to raise the prices on their goods and labor. Yes, I know the difficulties involved in that, but their is something to be said for specializing in producing something that a country has an advantage on producing. There aren't many places in the US that can grow coffee for example. As it is, I try to make sure that as much of what I buy is produced in the USA of domestic materials as possible.
|
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2012 23:29
|
|
Arglebargle III posted:Uh Jesus I made more than that last year and the IRS gave me money for bothering to file. I don't want to tell you you're doing something wrong, but somebody is doing something wring. The tax code is all kinds of hosed up. Poor people still pay FICA, right?
|
|
|
#
¿
May 15, 2012 15:22
|
|
|
Using money to help people! That fiend! [/quote] Is this a reference to something I'm not familiar with, or is "traveler" the new way for racists to say "black"? Regarding the one posted by constantIllusion, I do wonder why Romney isn't trotting his kids out at every available opportunity. I have seen them exactly once, in an interview. They seem like normal, well spoken people. It'd help humanize Romney, at the very least. [/quote] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fellow%20traveler "Fellow traveler" means Communist, basically.
|
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2012 17:39
|
|
King Dopplepopolos posted:Wow, Mark Steyn is an even bigger rear end in a top hat than I thought. And I already thought he was pretty much king of the assholes. Seriously, Sesame Street led to the Benghazi consulate attack? Reading through his bio he looks to be yet another conservative chicken hawk. Full of bluster about making war against those people, but never doing anything more dangerous than talking on the radio or writing about it. Funny how so many of the political folks who are most eager to go to war are the ones who've never served and aren't putting themselves to any personal risk.
|
|
|
#
¿
Oct 8, 2012 00:54
|
|
Randarkman posted:"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the State forever separate." - Ulysses S. Grant 
|
|
|
#
¿
Nov 30, 2012 18:50
|
|
A Fancy 400 lbs posted:The vote to remove the anti-miscegenation law in their Constitution passed in 2000 by 59-41. Let me repeat that. Just over a decade ago, 40% of voters in Alabama voted for keeping laws against interracial marriage in their State Constitution even though they couldn't be enforced anyways. Alabama is a strange place. http://globalgrind.com/news/alabama-votes-keep-racist-language-state-constitution-2012-details
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 3, 2012 22:29
|
|
Rogue0071 posted:Anarcho-capitalists generally are not huge defenders of the Constitution. They want no state beyond that which enforces contracts. This is never going to happen because states are instruments of class power and the bourgeoisie isn't going to give up its state without simultaneously losing its property. If the state only enforces contracts, wouldn't that automatically favor the rich since they would be able to hire better lawyers to write contracts in their favor?
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 7, 2012 10:04
|
|
|
Do they realize that the "no working man in the house" clauses of welfare weren't put there by the left?
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 8, 2012 07:48
|
|
MaxxBot posted:What's really to blame for the tragic CT shooting? Lax gun laws? Bad parenting? Inadequate care for the mentally ill? Not enough kindergarteners with concealed-carry permits? Nope, the gays did it! There isn't an irony meter big enough for Ted Nugent to be talking about family values.
|
|
|
#
¿
Dec 19, 2012 21:25
|
|
VideoTapir posted:Dear loving god this response. Every point missed. No understanding of what everything costs. I like that this guy thinks that every state has a deposit on their cans.
|
|
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2013 05:43
|
|
|
Here is the list from Web MD of breakfast for a dollar. The first five are fast food: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/breakfast-ideas-for-a-buck WebMD posted:I found cheap and healthy breakfast ideas at McDonald's, Burger King, and Jack in the Box.
|
|
|
#
¿
May 8, 2013 19:48
|
|
Lee Harvey Oswald posted:http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/11/vw-investment-a-huge-benefit-to-our-city/?opinionletters When did "The Muslims" attack Sweden?
|
|
|
#
¿
May 11, 2013 16:02
|
|
|
Flash mobs are a black thing?
|
|
|
#
¿
Aug 26, 2013 00:18
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 08:17 |
|
|
My sister-in-law posted this on Facebook. It's either STDH.txt or poo poo that's easy to do if you are wealthy. http://qz.com/165716/how-i-made-sure-all-12-of-my-kids-could-pay-for-college-themselves/ How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves By Francis L. Thompson January 12, 2014 Francis L. Thompson is an engineer at Northrop Grumman Corp. He led the teams that designed the first Direct TV satellites and missile defense satellites, as well as ground control for these systems. The Thompson family photo. Or Photoshop, since they haven't all been in the same place since 1998. Courtesy of Francis Thompson My wife and I had 12 children over the course of 15 1/2 years. Today, our oldest is 37 and our youngest is 22. I have always had a very prosperous job and enough money to give my kids almost anything. But my wife and I decided not to. 4 I will share with you the things that we did, but first let me tell you the results: All 12 of my children have college degrees (or are in school), and we as parents did not pay for it. Most have graduate degrees. Those who are married have wonderful spouses with the same ethics and college degrees, too. We have 18 grandchildren who are learning the same things that our kids learned—self respect, gratitude, and a desire to give back to society. SM 2 We raised our family in Utah, Florida, and California; my wife and I now live in Colorado. In March, we will have been married 40 years. I attribute the love between us as a part of our success with the children. They see a stable home life with a commitment that does not have compromises. 1 Here’s what we did right (we got plenty wrong, too, but that’s another list): 3 Chores Kids had to perform chores from age 3. A 3-year-old does not clean toilets very well but by the time he is 4, it’s a reasonably good job. They got allowances based on how they did the chores for the week. We had the children wash their own clothes by the time they turned 8. We assigned them a wash day. When they started reading, they had to make dinner by reading a recipe. They also had to learn to double a recipe. The boys and girls had to learn to sew. Study time Education was very important in our family. 3 We had study time from 6 to 8pm every week day. No television, computer, games, or other activities until the two hours were up. If they had no homework, then they read books. For those too young to be in school, we had someone read books to them. After the two hours, they could do whatever they wanted as long as they were in by curfew. All the kids were required to take every Advanced Placement class there was. We did not let entrance scores be an impediment. We went to the school and demanded our kids be let in. Then we, as parents, spent the time to ensure they had the understanding to pass the class. After the first child, the school learned that we kept our promise that the kids could handle the AP classes. If children would come home and say that a teacher hated them or was not fair, our response was that you need to find a way to get along. You need find a way to learn the material because in real life, you may have a boss that does not like you. We would not enable children to “blame” the teacher for not learning, but place the responsibility for learning the material back on the child. Of course, we were alongside them for two hours of study a day, for them to ask for help anytime. Picky eaters not allowed We all ate dinner and breakfast together. Breakfast was at 5:15am and then the children had to do chores before school. Dinner was at 5:30pm. More broadly, food was interesting. We wanted a balanced diet, but hated it when we were young and parents made us eat all our food. Sometimes we were full and just did not want to eat anymore. Our rule was to give the kids the food they hated most first (usually vegetables) and then they got the next type of food. They did not have to eat it and could leave the table. If later they complained they were hungry, we would get out that food they did not want to eat, warm it up in the microwave, and provide it to them. Again, they did not have to eat it. But they got no other food until the next meal unless they ate it. We did not have snacks between meals. We always had the four food groups (meat, dairy, grain, fruits and vegetables) and nearly always had dessert of some kind. To this day, our kids are not afraid to try different foods, and have no allergies to foods. They try all kinds of new foods and eat only until they are full. Not one of our kids is even a little bit heavy. They are thin, athletic, and very healthy. With 12 kids, you would think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs. (I am not a doctor.) Extracurriculars All kids had to play some kind of sport. They got to choose, but choosing none was not an option. We started them in grade school. We did not care if it was swimming, football, baseball, fencing, tennis, etc. and did not care if they chose to change sports. But they had to play something. All kids had to be in some kind of club: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, history, drama, etc. They were required to provide community service. We would volunteer within our community and at church. For Eagle Scout projects, we would have the entire family help. Once we collected old clothes and took them to Mexico and passed them out. The kids saw what life was like for many families and how their collections made them so happy and made a difference. Independence When the kids turned 16, we bought each a car. The first one learned what that meant. As the tow truck pulled a once “new” car into the driveway, my oldest proclaimed: “Dad, it is a wreck!” I said, “Yes, but a 1965 Mustang fastback wreck. Here are the repair manuals. Tools are in the garage. I will pay for every part, but will not pay for LABOR.” Eleven months later, the car had a rebuilt engine, rebuilt transmission, newly upholstered interior, a new suspension system, and a new coat of paint. My daughter (yes, it was my daughter) had one of the hottest cars at high school. And her pride that she built it was beyond imaginable. (As a side note, none of my kids ever got a ticket for speeding, even though no car had less than 450 horsepower.) We as parents allowed kids to make mistakes. Five years before the 16th birthday and their “new” car gift, they had to help out with our family cars. Once I asked my son, Samuel, to change the oil and asked if he needed help or instruction. “No, Dad, I can do it.” An hour later, he came in and said, “Dad, does it take 18 quarts of oil to change the oil?” I asked where did he put 18 quarts of oil when normally only five were needed. His response: “That big screw on top at the front of the engine.” I said “You mean the radiator?” Well, he did not get into trouble for filling the radiator with oil. He had to drain it, we bought a radiator flush, put in new radiator fluid, and then he had to change the real oil. We did not ground him or give him any punishment for doing it “wrong.” We let the lesson be the teaching tool. Our children are not afraid to try something new. They were trained that if they do something wrong they will not get punished. It often cost us more money, but we were raising kids, not saving money. The kids each got their own computer, but had to build it. I bought the processor, memory, power supply, case, keyboard, hard drive, motherboard, and mouse. They had to put it together and load the software on. This started when they were 12. We let the children make their own choices, but limited. For example, do you want to go to bed now or clean your room? Rarely, did we give directives that were one way, unless it dealt with living the agreed-upon family rules. This let the child feel that she had some control over life. In it together We required the children to help each other. When a fifth grader is required to read 30 minutes a day, and a first grader is required to be read to 30 minutes a day, have one sit next to the other and read. Those in high school calculus tutored those in algebra or grade-school math. We assigned an older child to a younger child to teach them and help them accomplish their weekly chores. We let the children be a part of making the family rules. For example, the kids wanted the rule that no toys were allowed in the family room. The toys had to stay either in the bedroom or playroom. In addition to their chores, they had to all clean their bedroom every day (or just keep it clean in the first place). These were rules that the children wanted. We gave them a chance each month to amend or create new rules. Mom and Dad had veto power of course. We tried to be always consistent. If they had to study two hours every night, we did not make an exception to it. Curfew was 10pm during school nights and midnight on non-school nights. There were no exceptions to the rules. Vacation policy We would take family vacations every summer for two or three weeks. We could afford a hotel, or cruise, but did not choose those options. We went camping and backpacking. If it rained, then we would figure out how to backpack in the rain and survive. We would set up a base camp at a site with five or six tents, and I would take all kids age 6 or older on a three- to five-day backpack trip. My wife would stay with the little ones. Remember, for 15 years, she was either pregnant or just had a baby. My kids and I hiked across the Grand Canyon, to the top of Mount Whitney, across the Continental Divide, across Yosemite. We would send kids via airplane to relatives in Europe or across the US for two or three weeks at a time. We started this when they were in kindergarten. It would take special treatment for the airlines to take a 5-year-old alone on the plane and required people on the other end to have special documentation. We only sent the kids if they wanted to go. However, with the younger ones seeing the older ones travel, they wanted to go. The kids learned from an early age that we, as parents, were always there for them, but would let them grow their own wings and fly. Money and materialism Even though we have sufficient money, we have not helped the children buy homes, pay for education, pay for weddings (yes, we do not pay for weddings either). We have provided extensive information on how to do it or how to buy rental units and use equity to grow wealth. We do not “give” things to our children but we give them information and teach them “how” to do things. We have helped them with contacts in corporations, but they have to do the interviews and “earn” the jobs. We give birthday and Christmas presents to the kids. We would play Santa Claus but as they got older, and would ask about it, we would not lie. We would say it is a game we play and it is fun. We did and do have lists for items that each child would like for presents. Then everyone can see what they want. With the internet, it is easy to send such lists around to the children and grandchildren. Still, homemade gifts are often the favorite of all. The real world We loved the children regardless of what they did. But would not prevent consequences of any of their actions. We let them suffer consequences and would not try to mitigate the consequences because we saw them suffering. We would cry and be sad, but would not do anything to reduce the consequences of their actions. We were and are not our kids’ best friends. We were their parents. 14
|
|
|
#
¿
Jan 17, 2014 03:51
|
|